7/23/2019 The Master Man

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-master-man 1/5

Master Man A Tall Tale of Nigeria

Told by Aaron ShepardGift of Story #16

 Adapted for storytelling by the author, from his picture book  published byHarperCollins, New York, 2001

For more resources, isit  Aaron Shepard!s Storytelling "age at  $aaronshep$com%storytelling

Copyright 2001, 2002 Aaron !hepard" You are welcome to tell this story in li#e performance or broadcast, but please mention the author and the children$s book, if any"

%&'()'*+ !hadusa thinks he$s the strongest man in the worldtill he meets the real  -aster -an"

.'N&'+ /all tales, folktalesC/&'+ *est African, Nigerian/H'-'+ -achismo

   A)'NC' A.'!+ 3 and up'N./H+ 10 minutes

N4/'!+ /his is a tale of the Hausa, the largest ethnic group of northern Nigeria" -ostly -uslim, theyha#e li#ed mainly in towns and #illages on the sa#annah"  Shadusa is pronounced 5sha6446sa,7rhyming with 5a goose a"7 Shettu is pronounced 5!H'/6oo,7 rhyming with 5get two"7 Wah is an Africane8clamation with no literal meaning"

Hear the Names 9  Aaron$s '8tras  All special features are at www"aaronshep"com:e8tras"

4nce there was a man who was strong. *hen he gathered firewood, he hauled twice as much as anyone else in

the #illage" *hen he hunted, he carried home two antelopes at once"/his man$s name was !hadusa, and his wife was named !hettu" 4ne

day he said to her, 5;ust look at these muscles" ) must be the strongest manin the world" <rom now on, =ust call me -aster -an"7

>ut !hettu said, 5?uit your foolish boasting" No matter how strong youare, there will always be someone stronger" And watch out, or someday youmay meet him"7

/he ne8t day, !hettu paid a #isit to a neighboring #illage" 4n the walkhome she grew thirsty, so she stopped by a well" !he threw in the bucketsplashthen she pulled on the rope" >ut though she tugged and she hea#ed,she could not lift the bucket"

;ust then a woman walked up with a baby strapped to her back">alanced on her head was a calabash, a hollow gourd for carrying water"

5You$ll get no water here today,7 said !hettu" 5/he bucket won$t comeup"7

7/23/2019 The Master Man

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-master-man 2/5

/he two women pulled together, but still the bucket would not budge"5*ait a moment,7 said the woman" !he untied her baby and set him on

the ground" 5%ull up the bucket for -ama"7/he baby @uickly pulled up the bucket and filled his mother$s calabash"

/hen he threw in the bucket and pulled it up once more for !hettu"!hettu gasped" 5) don$t belie#e it754h, it$s not so strange,7 said the woman" 5After all, my husband is

-aster -an"7 *hen !hettu got home, she told !hadusa what had happened"5-aster -anB7 yelled !hadusa" 5He can$t call himself that  I’m -aster

-an" )$ll ha#e to teach that fellow a lesson"754h, husband, don$t7 pleaded !hettu" 5)f the baby is so strong, think

 what the father must be like" You$ll get yourself killed"7>ut !hadusa said, 5*e$ll see about that7

/he ne8t morning, !hadusa set out early and walked till he came to the well" He threw in the bucketsplashthen he pulled on the rope" >utthough he tugged and he hea#ed, he could not lift the bucket"

;ust then the woman with the baby walked up"5*ait a minute,7 said !hadusa" 5*hat do you think you$re doingB75)$m getting water, of course,7 answered the woman"5*ell, you can$t,7 said !hadusa" 5/he bucket won$t come up"7/he woman set down the baby, who @uickly pulled up the bucket and

filled his mother$s calabash"5*ah7 yelled !hadusa" 5How did he do thatB7

5)t$s easy,7 said the woman, 5when your father is -aster -an"7!hadusa gulped and thought about going home" >ut instead he thrust

out his chest and said, 5) want to meet this fellow, so ) can show him who$sthe real  -aster -an"7

54h, ) wouldn$t do that,7 said the woman" 5He de#ours men like you>ut suit yourself"7

!o !hadusa followed the woman back to her compound" )nside thefenced yard was a gigantic fireplace, and beside it was a pile of huge bones"

5*hat$s all thisB7 asked !hadusa"5*ell, you see,7 said the woman, 5our hut is so small that my husband

must come out here to eat his elephants"7;ust then they heard a great &4A&, so loud that !hadusa had to co#er

his ears" /hen the ground began to shake, until !hadusa could hardly stand"5*hat$s thatB7 he shouted"5/hat$s -aster -an"754h, no7 wailed !hadusa" 5You weren$t fooling" )$#e got to get out of

here75)t$s too late now,7 said the woman" 5>ut let me hide you"7>y the fence were some large clay pots, each as tall as a man, for

storing grain" !he helped him climb into one, then set the lid in place"

7/23/2019 The Master Man

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-master-man 3/5

!hadusa raised the lid a crack to peek out" And there he was, cominginto the compound with a dead elephant across his shoulders" )t was -aster-an

5id you ha#e a good day, dearB7 asked the woman"5Yes7 bellowed -aster -an" 5>ut ) forgot my bow and arrows" ) had to

kill this elephant with my bare hands"7 As !hadusa watched in terror, -aster -an built a huge fire in the

fireplace, roasted the elephant, and de#oured e#ery bit of it but the bones"!uddenly he stopped and sniffed" 5*ife ) smell a man754h, there$s no man here now,7 said the woman" 54ne passed by while

 you were gone" /hat must be what you smell"75/oo bad,7 thundered -aster -an" 5He would ha#e been tasty"7 /hen

he rolled o#er on the ground, and before long the lea#es were tremblingfrom his snores"

/he woman hurried o#er to the pot and slid off the lid" 5?uick7 she whispered" 5.et away while you can"7!hadusa leaped out and bolted down the path" >ut he hadn$t gone too

far when he heard a distant &4A& and felt the ground tremble beneath him"-aster -an was coming

!hadusa ran till he came upon fi#e farmers hoeing a field"5*hat$s your hurryB7 called one"5-aster -an is after me75/ake it easy,7 said the farmer" 5*e won$t let anyone hurt you"7;ust then they heard a terrible &4A&" /he farmers all dropped their

hoes and co#ered their ears"5*hat was thatB7 asked the farmer"5/hat was -aster -an75*ell, then,7 said the farmer, 5you$d better keep running7 And the fi#e

farmers fled across the field"!hadusa ran on till he met ten porters carrying bundles"5*hat$s your hurryB7 called one"5-aster -an is after me75&ela8,7 said the porter" 5No one can fight us all"7;ust then the ground @uaked, and they all bounced into the air" /he

porters fell in a heap, all mi8ed up with their bundles"5*hat was thatB7 asked the porter"5/hat was -aster -an75/hen run for your life7 And the ten porters bolted from the path"!hadusa ran on till he rounded a bendthen he stopped short" /here

 beside the path sat a stranger, and there beside the stranger lay a huge pileof elephant bones"

5*hat$s your hurryB7 growled the stranger"5-aster -an is after me,7 moaned !hadusa"

5You better not say so$cause I’m -aster -an7

7/23/2019 The Master Man

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-master-man 4/5

<rom behind !hadusa came another &4A&, and once again he bounced into the air" /he stranger caught him in one hand as -aster -anran up"

5et me ha#e him7 bellowed -aster -an"5Come and get him7 growled the stranger"-aster -an lunged, but the stranger tossed !hadusa into a tree" /hen

the two strong men wrapped themsel#es around each other and wrestledacross the ground"

/he noise of the battle nearly deafened !hadusa" /he dust choked him"/he trembling of the tree nearly shook him down"

 As !hadusa watched, the two men struggled to their feet, still clutchingeach another" /hen each ga#e a mighty leap, and together they rose into theair" Higher and higher they went, till they passed through a cloud and out of sight"

!hadusa waited and waited, but the men ne#er came back down" Atlast he climbed carefully from the tree, then ran and ran and ne#er stoppedtill he got home safe and sound" And he ne#er called himself -aster -anagain"

 As for those other two, they$re still in the clouds, where they battle onto this day" 4f course, they rest whene#er they$re both worn out" >ut sooneror later they start up again, and what a noise they make

!ome people call that noise thunder" >ut now you know whatit really istwo fools fighting fore#er to see which one is -aster -an"

Tips for Telling

/his storylike many others but e#en more socan be enhanced by a fewstandard mime techni@ues, like for pulling on the rope, shaking with the@uaking earth, lifting the lid of the pot and peeking out, carrying theelephant, and running" !ince mimes do at least some of these things

differently and more effecti#ely than you$re likely to figure out for yourself,it$s worth studying these techni@ues from a book, a #ideo, oras ) was lucky to doa class"

 About the !tory   All special features are at www"aaronshep"com:e8tras"

7/23/2019 The Master Man

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-master-man 5/5

 Read the book!

Master Man 

 A Tall Tale of Nigeria 

/old by Aaron !hepard)llustrated by a#id *isniewski

Ne8t !tory  9 .ifts of !tory  9  Aaron$s !torytelling %age 9 Aaron$s Home %age !earch 9 New  9 <lash 9 &ights 9 Co